Self-Destruction

“The destruction of the Qionghua Sect...” The Saint's remnant soul murmured, then gently shook his head. Now was not the time to discuss this. Intrigued though he was by the Qionghua Sect's ruin, resolving the perilous crisis brought by Tianyan and that madwoman was the top priority. Pausing, the Saint's remnant soul said softly, “Judging by the time, that Ran girl should almost have succeeded.” Xu Yuan pondered briefly and nodded. “Let's hope everything goes smoothly.” Saying so, Xu Yuan slowly raised his eyes toward the dome of the massive palace hall. The formations within the Hall of Dharma Transmission remained intact, with the Luanyin Formation and various other defensive arrays operating methodically. With the Saintess soul key and the empowerment of the Saint's soul power, Xu Yuan could unilaterally sense the terrifying clash of energy raging in the sky above. After the Saint's sneak attack just now, the oppressive pink mist hanging in midair had noticeably thinned. Unfortunately, before Xu Yuan could get a closer read on the situation— *Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!* A thunderous blast detonated abruptly right above their heads. The immense hall shook violently. The formation patterns inside flickered between light and dark, and the previously sound palace structure fractured instantly. Cracks appeared on the interior walls out of nowhere, spreading outward like spiderwebs. Xu Yuan steadied himself amidst the tremors, his pupils contracting slightly. It was that madwoman. She could see him! “This woman must be able to sense the mark on your forehead!” the Saint's remnant soul suddenly snapped in a low voice. Xu Yuan's heart sank. That was reality for you; you never knew whether tomorrow or an unexpected disaster would arrive first. Their original plan had been to hide down here using the Luanyin Formation within the hall and bide their time, but now it seemed the plan had to change. Without needing any prompt, Xu Yuan blurred into an afterimage, sprinting at top speed toward the array platform at the rear of the hall. The defensive formations engraved upon the hall hadn't been breached in a single strike, but judging by the momentum, it wouldn't be long before they gave way. Staying here any longer was suicidal. Without a sneak attack, he and the Saint's remnant soul combined probably wouldn't even be enough for Tianyan to deal with using one hand, let alone that madwoman who had entered an aggro state. He sprinted onward as continuous rumbles echoed overhead, gravel and fine sand raining down from the hall's dome. In a battle of the caliber between Tianyan and the red-clad madwoman, these ancient relics simply couldn't endure for long. In the blink of an eye, the defensive formations of the Dharma Transmission Hall were on the verge of collapse. Fortunately, Xu Yuan had already reached the vicinity of the array platform; in just a few breaths, he could reach it and escape. As the madwoman bombarded below without pause, Tianyan also seemed to realize that Xu Yuan hadn't left immediately, and her voice traveled down from the sky: “Xu Changtian, didn't you say you had a way to break this madwoman's Dao domain?!” It was not a voice transmission, but an open, ringing shout projected using Source Qi. Under the furious onslaught of the provoked madwoman, Tianyan likely didn't have the spare leeway to direct a precise transmission anymore. Of course, it was also possible that the interference from the Luanyin Formation in the hall prevented her from pinpointing Xu Yuan's exact location. Xu Yuan ignored her completely. What a joke. That sneak attack earlier had drawn all of the madwoman's aggro squarely onto him. If he hadn't fled so fast with Void-Stepping Slash, he'd probably be dead already. With the formation on the verge of breaking, speaking up in reply would be tantamount to yelling 'fire at me' to that madwoman. Tianyan actually thought she could play him. Better you die than me. Nobody knew how to abandon a teammate better than he did. Just as Tianyan's words fell, a shrill, agonizing shriek abruptly rang out in midair: “Ahhh—!” The voice belonged to the madwoman. Xu Yuan frowned slightly and asked inwardly, “Old Man Luo—” Before he could finish, the Saint's remnant soul chuckled in response, “Most likely the Ran girl severed the madwoman's true body! Let's get out of here quickly. Leave the rest to Tianyan, and we can just come back later to reap the rewards!” “Right.” Xu Yuan nodded. In two breaths, Xu Yuan reached the array platform built in the inner sanctum of the Dharma Transmission Hall. At such a life-and-death juncture, without Xu Yuan needing to urge him, the Saint's remnant soul immediately activated the formation. As the teleportation array rapidly charged— “Wait... *cough, cough, cough*...” Tianyan's exasperated, frantic voice came from the sky once more: “Why... why can this woman trigger the Meishen flower inside me... *Gwah!*” Before she could finish, all that remained was the sound of the girl coughing up blood. “...” Xu Yuan's pupils shrank abruptly at the sound. Yet immediately after, he suspected this might be another of Tianyan's tricks. After all, no matter how one looked at it, a first-rank demonic soul stripped of its physical shell couldn't possibly be a match for Tianyan. The thought flashed through his mind, and then— *Rumble!* A colossal blast tore through the dome of the palace hall. Looking up, the sight before his eyes made Xu Yuan suddenly realize that Tianyan hadn't lied to him this time. *** Cherry Leech Lake. Ran Qingmo quietly backed away with her black sword in hand. That single slash just now had completely drained her internal Source Qi. The hundred-meter tree trunk was now entirely encased in ice crystals. Across the midsection remained a sword cut that had nearly cleaved the trunk in two. A cut of this severity should have been fatal to any plant, yet the Meishen cherry tree before her had actually begun to grow. Inside the ice crystals, numerous tender buds and slender branches had sprouted along the trunk. The ceaselessly growing twigs inside slowly forced cracks through the surface ice, eventually shattering it. Yet due to the lingering chill of the sword art's might, new ice crystals reformed over the fresh branches almost instantaneously. Back and forth it went, as though a fast-forward button had been pressed on the Meishen cherry tree's growth. In mere moments, the cherry blossoms bloomed anew just as before. Only, a thin layer of fine ice still clung to the surface of the Meishen cherry tree. Ran Qingmo's delicate brows furrowed slightly. The state of the tree before her was rather bizarre. It had merely bloomed. The sword slash carved into its trunk and the massive holes pierced by the eight icicles showed no signs of healing or regrowth, still exuding a bone-chilling cold. The situation exceeded Ran Qingmo's understanding. As she pondered, *Buzz—* Beneath the sunlight, the giant tree ablaze with gorgeous cherry blossoms suddenly emitted a tremendous drone, and the pale blue ice crystals coating the flowers instantly disintegrated into myriad shimmering dust particles! At the same time, accompanied by the drone, a ring of pink light rippled outward from the Meishen cherry tree, shooting away into the distance! Faced with such an unforeseen shift, Ran Qingmo instinctively raised her black sword to block, but the expanding ring of pink light seemed devoid of any power, only stirring a gentle breeze that rustled the hem of her black dress. “What... is this?” Ran Qingmo frowned and turned back to look. Having emitted that ring of light, the Meishen cherry tree seemed to have exhausted its final spark of vitality, and its colossal trunk began to tilt and collapse along the slash wound... *** At the Dharma Transmission Hall, *Rumble—* The violent tremor from the collapse of the hall's defensive formations caused the teleportation array's charging to stutter and stall temporarily. A gaping hole was blown open in the palace dome, and outside sunlight poured in instantly. On high alert, Xu Yuan immediately raised his eyes. Then, he saw a girl in palace attire plummeting from the sky like a kite with a broken string. *Crash!* Tianyan's petite figure slammed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of smoke and dust! Following right behind, the red-clad madwoman instantly materialized inside the hall. The Dao domain that had originally enveloped her had already vanished. Yet the madwoman did not continue attacking Tianyan. Instead, she turned her eyes toward Xu Yuan. For reasons unknown, her vacant, lifeless eyes were slowly clearing. After holding his gaze for two seconds, “Thank you,” she said. Pausing, she whispered, “I'm sorry.” With that, Yuchu smiled softly—a smile of sheer release. Accompanied by an expanding ring of pink light, her soul body burst with a *bang* beneath the sunlight, turning into countless swirling, magnificent cherry blossoms that swept out in all directions... “...” Xu Yuan stared in astonishment at the scene before him. What was going on? She blew herself up? As Xu Yuan was dazed, the Saint's remnant soul roared inside his mind: “The Qionghua Sect was destroyed by this Meishen cherry tree! Run! If you get caught in those petals—” Before Old Man Luo could finish, amidst the flurry of falling blossoms, the world before Xu Yuan's eyes had already turned unfamiliar...